After extreme recent weather afflicting people across the country, many Americans have had to face the difficulties resulting from power outages. In addition to extreme weather which may negatively impact access to electricity, the American electricity industry also runs on an antiquated, unreliable system where even the slightest disturbance can cause a blackout. Electricity begins its long journey to consumers when it is generated at power plants using mostly non-renewable

Within the 2017-18 term alone, the United States Supreme Court is expected to hear and adjudicate three trials dealing with one of the most pressing political issues today: gerrymandering. The most recent case to be added to this list of three is Abbott v. Perez, which tackles the issue of racial gerrymandering in Texas and will have serious repercussions on our currently unjust and untrustworthy voting system. To predict the outcome in Abbot v. Perez, we can look to the prec

In the mid 1970s, the intersection of campaign finances and the perception of the ideal democratic system perplexed the nation. Congress attempted to address the issue in the later days of Nixon’s presidency with the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) amendments of 1974. In early 1975, James Buckley, a former senator from the state of New York, spearheaded a lawsuit against Francis Valeo, the Secretary of the Senate and representative of the United States Federal government

Though nearly a century old, the Martin Act is generating a fierce debate today due to a recent high-profile lawsuit filed by the New York State Attorney General (NYAG) against ExxonMobil. The Act allows for the NYAG to investigate and combat “fraudulent practices” in the offer, sale, or purchase of securities in New York.[1] For decades the act was little used; indeed, it was only Attorney General Eliot Spitzer who began to wield it against powerful Wall Street firms. A seri

In early January 2018, a coalition of Californians announced their desire to form the fifty-first state of “New California.” This proposed new state would comprise most of California’s “rural counties,” leaving only the coastal counties from Sonoma to Los Angeles as the state of California. The coalition does not feel represented by the “liberal elite” of San Francisco and L.A. that accounts for most of California’s population but occupies only a small geographic portion.[1]